| Sources: Suns a 'yes' away from acquiring Shaq for Marion
The seemingly improbable pairing of an aging Shaquille O'Neal and the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns is just a final "yes" from the Suns away from happening, according to NBA front-office sources. Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Miami Heat have already agreed to send O'Neal to the Suns in exchange for All-Star forward Shawn Marion and out-of-favor guard Marcus Banks. Miami is simply waiting for Phoenix management to complete a medical examination of O'Neal and formally accept what would rank as one of the most unexpected trades in league history. "It looks like it's going to happen," said one source close to the situation. "We should know for sure by [Wednesday]." ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported Tuesday night that O'Neal is scheduled to arrive in Phoenix on Wednesday to undergo a physical.
Write off predatory Michael Owen at your peril
Not only that, the latest news from Tyneside isn't half bad. The old goalscoring instincts remain perfectly intact in the little No 10 wearing black and white. Owen proved that yesterday conclusively enough against a Middlesbrough side who weren't in the mood for handing out gifts. Anything gleaned would have to be earned. In fact, it soon became obvious, once the referee had scandalously denied Owen in the opening minutes, that if the forward wanted to avoid setting a personal record by going 10 Premier League games without a goal, he would have to be sharp when the next chance cropped up. And sharp he certainly looked in the second half when Emre whipped in a lovely free-kick. Somehow, one of the smallest players on the pitch got his head to the ball first to glance home the first goal of Keegan's second coming.
Let's not overthink playtime
When I was little, my bedroom faced the front of the house. Our neighborhood swarmed with kids. In the summer, the window was always open -- we had no air conditioning, of course -- and I remember my dad liking to take naps there on long Sunday afternoons. Why? Because, he said, he loved so much to hear the happy sounds of the children playing outside. You know, that faraway/right there cacophony of children squealing and yelping and chasing and playing. So unstructured, so fun. A sense of innocence about it. That was at a time when parents literally said, "Go play in the street." At least mine did. We would play four-square and hopscotch by the hour on the quiet street in front of our suburban Chicago (Arlington Heights) home. A car would come, we'd clear out for a moment, then go back to our game.
Tubby can feel Weber's pain
Three Februaries ago, the fab followers of Illinois basketball were circling Champaign to brush up against Bruce Weber's Final Four-bound genius. Today, some of those same Krushed brushers are simply circling Weber's basketball bones. Tubby Smith knows the sting of faded April joy. He beat the blue posse out of Kentucky last spring with his 1998 NCAA championship banner still on display and now has his first-edition Minnesota Golden Gophers amped and waiting for this evening's visit from Weber and the struggling Illini (8, Big Ten Network, 560-AM). As a thriving survivor, Smith professed nothing but empathy and perspective Monday for his blue-circled colleague. ''Stay in this business long enough, and it's going to happen,'' said Smith, who completed a 10-year run in Lexington of 263-83 (.761) before bolting to sign a reported seven-year, $12.8 million deal at Minnesota last March.
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